Last week the Senate signed off on a bipartisan, two-year budget deal that lays the groundwork for lawmakers to make progress on FY20 appropriations bills this fall. The budget agreement, which the House of Representatives previously approved, will now be signed into law by President Donald Trump. The budget framework increases theRead More

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Region 5 Administrator Cathy Stepp recently visited Cleveland, Ohio, to announce a new Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grant program specifically focused on funding trash-free water projects in the Great Lakes. “Removing trash, litter and garbage – including plastics – fromRead More

In response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) third Notice of Funding Availability, the agency received 51 letters of interest, collectively requesting $6.6 billion in Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) funding. This exceeds the $6 billion that EPA is offering, demonstrating the critical need for investment inRead More

The House Appropriations Committee passed its Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) Interior & Environment Appropriations bill in May, which funds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and included a significant increase for key EPA programs. This occurred on the same day President Trump broke off discussions with Congressional leaders on aRead More

In March, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the availability of funding to provide an estimated $6 billion in Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans in 2019. “Through WIFIA, we are addressing several of President Trump’s top priorities simultaneously: modernizing our nation’s aging infrastructure, improvingRead More

Funding for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would be cut by nearly a third next year under an FY20 budget proposal released by the Trump administration last week. The spending cuts, which would reduce EPA appropriations from their FY19 level of just over $8.8 billion to $6.1 billion next year, would alsoRead More

The Senate voted 52-47 last week to confirm Andrew Wheeler as the next administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Wheeler was expected to be sworn in after holding the position of acting administrator since Scott Pruitt resigned from the post last July. Following Pruitt’s resignation, President Donald TrumpRead More

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler recently announced EPA’s first-ever comprehensive Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Action Plan. This historic PFAS Action Plan responds to extensive public interest and input the agency has received over the past year and represents the first time EPA has built aRead More

In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that aims to increase the use of domestically-produced iron, steel, cement and manufactured goods on a broad range of water and other infrastructure projects that receive federal funding assistance. However, the order does not alter the underlying statutory Buy American requirementsRead More

Andrew Wheeler appeared before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee earlier this month for a confirmation hearing on his nomination to serve as EPA administrator. Wheeler, who President Trump formally nominated on Jan. 9 to lead the agency on a permanent basis, has served as acting administrator since formerRead More